Semper Reformanda

...some days even my lucky rocketship underpants don't help.

[Friday, July 31, 2009]

The God-sized hole

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This article was published back in June, but a friend just told me about it recently.

I don't know if he even understood what he was saying when he said it... but it is telling and honest. Read it people, it is probably the most true look at the life of a Hollywood actor you'll ever get.




"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Matthew 11:28-30

[Friday, July 24, 2009]

Meditation: Phillipians 3:15-16

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Taken from here.


“Let those of us who are mature be thus minded; and if in anything you are otherwise minded, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained.” Philippians 3:15-16

How incredibly difficult it is to see ourselves as we really are. Though we see the strengths and shortcomings of others quite easily, to look honestly in the mirror at our own lives is not easy at all. Those who wrestle with addictions are very familiar with the power of denial. We all tend to deny to ourselves what we don’t want to admit. Though the people who love us the most keep warning us; though sermons and songs and words from scripture keep confirming those warnings; though deep in our hearts we know those warnings are probably on target; if we don’t like what we are hearing we will deny to ourselves what we know to be true. The promise the Apostle Paul makes to us in this passage is that God will reveal to His children those ways of thinking, patterns of behavior, attitudes, character flaws, etc., that need to change. What an awesome promise that is. God will break down the walls of denial we build around our hearts if we will let Him.

How do we let Him? Three words: faith, courage, willingness. Faith leads to courage, courage leads to willingness, willingness leads to God. Here’s how it works. To have FAITH in the love of Jesus means that you know that no matter what you have done or haven’t done, no matter how you have failed or succeeded, no matter how good or bad you have been; God loves you with an incredible love. Romans 5:20 tells us, “…where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” There’s nothing you can do to make God love you more or love you less. Jesus’ death on the cross has shown us once and for all the depth of God’s amazing love for us all. When you have faith in that love it gives you COURAGE. When you know how loved you are you have the courage to look honestly at yourself because you know that no matter how good, bad, or ugly you are, still you are loved!!! You don’t have to be afraid of what you will see if you let go of your denial. Have you really messed up? Still you are loved. Have you hurt someone terribly? Still you are loved. Are you selfish, prideful, greedy, judgmental, etc.? Still you are loved. When you have faith in Jesus, that faith gives you the courage to see what you haven’t wanted to see, and that courage leads to WILLINGNESS. With courage you can find the willingness to let God break your denial. With courage you can find the willingness to hear whatever God is saying to you. With courage you can find the willingness to let God speak to you through your spouse, your parent, your friend, your preacher, or even your own conscience. With courage you can find the willingness even to make changes you haven’t wanted to make, knowing that God’s love will be with you as you make those changes.

Denial is a terrible thing. Willingness to listen and to change is an awesome thing.

Prayer: Dear God, please strengthen my faith in Jesus so that I may have courage. I want to be brave enough to hear what You are really saying to me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Booty, God, Booty

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Stuff Christians Like's Jon Acuff brings it at Cross Point Church in Nashville.



Coming in at just under 28 minutes, this is definitely worth a watch.

[Monday, July 20, 2009]

Which one are you?

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July 2009 Events

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A short video my man Brian did for church announcements.

Re-posted from Katie's blog.

Book Review: Crazy Love

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Short story: Francis Chan is the man. This book is compelling, accessible, and has exhortation out the yin-yang.

I did myself a disservice by reading this book over a period of 2-3 months. I've been lazy this summer with regard to my reading and just didn't stay on a regimented schedule. My fault. However, every time I read part of this book, I was continually impressed with Chan's ability to pull me back into his way of looking at the Christian life.

The main purpose of the book is to establish a sort of framework for the craziness that is the love of God towards man (crazy, in the extreme amount and specific nature of that love). And the craziness of our normal response (singing, 2 hrs on Sunday morning, and feeling bad about cussing etc...) Thus, Chan works to reestablish the sheer weight of God's love for us and our amazing inadequacy in our response to that love. Then, after this, he asks the hard questions and challenges us to reflect on our lives and how they should properly convey God's love and our love for God.

Chan has impacted me with his book, if only to reaffirm some choices I've made recently. Theology is great, and a large part of my life, but if theology doesn't cause you to get out of your chair and your nose out of that book, then something is wrong. We are called... even compelled to make a difference in our surrounding world. Chan helps us to not lose sight of this. Chapter 9 is basically a number of biographies of people who have lived their lives differently, who have chosen not to be complacent with the status quo of human existence and who gave until they were unable to give anymore. This chapter really spoke to me, and I hope it speaks to you as well.

This book goes next to Mere Christianity on the list of books every person who considers themselves a Christian should read.

Please do not miss this.

[Wednesday, July 15, 2009]

Bible giveaway

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Logos Bible Software is celebrating the launch of their new online Bible by giving away 72 ultra-premium print Bibles at a rate of 12 per month for six months. The Bible giveaway is being held at Bible.Logos.com and you can get up to five different entries each month! After you enter, be sure to check out Logos and see how it can revolutionize your Bible study.

Being observant

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I recently started a new part-time job, which requires that I keep an eye on everything that is going on around me. This really started to hit home to me as DJ (a co-worker) was training me on the things he does during his shift. I was beginning to realize that I don't really pay attention to my surroundings that much, take stock of the world around me, or notice small changes. I'm usually driving towards a goal, seeking after a result that is still far away. Big changes, that's what I seem to do well with.

Hopefully, I'm not as un-observant (is that even a word?) as this guy:



But, I do feel that this is an area that I need to improve in. When was the last time you noticed something new about a place you walk by everyday? Or perhaps a new hairstyle of a friend?

I think this even carries over into our reading of scripture. "Oh this is the Christmas story, I know what happens here!" And we skip right over a truth that is sitting right there waiting for us that maybe we didn't see the first 5000 times we read the story. That's the beauty of scripture-- regardless of how long you've studied it, something new can always be brought to light. As long as you are humble enough to be taught.

I think good observance is directly connected to humility. Without being humble enough to realize that more is going on than we already know or can see, we can never truly observe and learn from our surroundings. If you aren't able to say "What is the new thing am I going to see today?", you will never find anything new in life to get excited about.

Change is a wonderful thing. It destroys monotony and reminds us of our temporary existence by reaffirming what is truly important in life. Don't get caught in the trap that things need to settle down. Seek new things every day of your life!

Humility is also a wonderful thing. It destroys the pride and self-worth that comes from the invader and reminds us of our finite minds by knocking us down a peg or two when we need it. Don't get caught in the trap that you know it all. Seek to always be a student every day of your life!

I hope I never quit learning and observing from my surroundings. If I do, someone kick me in the face.

[Tuesday, July 14, 2009]

What you didn't know about Apollo 11

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Taken from here...


Ten Things You Didn't Know About the Apollo 11 Moon Landing

1. The Apollo’s Saturn rockets were packed with enough fuel to throw 100-pound shrapnel three miles, and NASA couldn’t rule out the possibility that they might explode on takeoff. NASA seated its VIP spectators three and a half miles from the launchpad.

2. The Apollo computers had less processing power than a cellphone.

3. Drinking water was a fuel-cell by-product, but Apollo 11’s hydrogen-gas filters didn’t work, making every drink bubbly. Urinating and defecating in zero gravity, meanwhile, had not been figured out; the latter was so troublesome that at least one astronaut spent his entire mission on an anti-diarrhea drug to avoid it.

4. When Apollo 11’s lunar lander, the Eagle, separated from the orbiter, the cabin wasn’t fully depressurized, resulting in a burst of gas equivalent to popping a champagne cork. It threw the module’s landing four miles off-target.

5. Pilot Neil Armstrong nearly ran out of fuel landing the Eagle, and many at mission control worried he might crash. Apollo engineer Milton Silveira, however, was relieved: His tests had shown that there was a small chance the exhaust could shoot back into the rocket as it landed and ignite the remaining propellant.

6. The "one small step for man" wasn’t actually that small. Armstrong set the ship down so gently that its shock absorbers didn’t compress. He had to hop 3.5 feet from the Eagle’s ladder to the surface.

7. When Buzz Aldrin joined Armstrong on the surface, he had to make sure not to lock the Eagle's door because there was no outer handle.

8. The toughest moonwalk task? Planting the flag. NASA’s studies suggested that the lunar soil was soft, but Armstrong and Aldrin found the surface to be a thin wisp of dust over hard rock. They managed to drive the flagpole a few inches into the ground and film it for broadcast, and then took care not to accidentally knock it over.

9. The flag was made by Sears, but NASA refused to acknowledge this because they didn’t want "another Tang."

10. The inner bladder of the space suits—the airtight liner that keeps the astronaut’s body under Earth-like pressure—and the ship’s computer’s ROM chips were handmade by teams of “little old ladies.”

[Saturday, July 11, 2009]

Half Blood Prince

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The new Harry Potter comes out this week. Get excited!!!

[Friday, July 10, 2009]

Lucky Rocketship Underpants

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So recently, a lot of people have been asking me where the quote in the upper-right-hand corner of my blog came from... Ok, so that's a lie. No one has ever asked me where it came from or why its there. Actually, I'm not sure if anyone has ever even noticed it. Anyway, I thought I'd share where it came from anyway, since it came from one of the indispensable bastions of truth in the galaxy...


(Click to enlarge)

Ever feel like you can take on the world? Like you're prepared for whatever gets thrown at you? Then you get ran over by a Mack truck right out of the door? Yeah, we've all been there. On days like that, even your lucky rocketship underpants don't help.

Happy 500th John Calvin!

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Is it faith to understand nothing, and merely submit your convictions implicitly to the Church?
-- John Calvin


If he were still alive, John Calvin would be 500 years old today. Now, even though that's only half as old as Yoda actually lived, its still an historic occasion to remember. This whole week, many people gathered in Geneva, Switzerland to celebrate the event which is covered here.

Forever known as the "founder" of Calvinism (though he did not coin the name, nor did he systamatize the theology into the dreaded "TULIP," which was actually done by his contemporaries), John Calvin remains a very volatile image in Christian history. Ya either love him or hate him... not many land in between.

His Institutes of the Christian Religion and set of commentaries still remain a powerhouse in Christian theology and respected in the academic community.

Regardless of what you think about his teachings on specific topics, the guy was a man of God... no doubt about that. So, happy birthday John Calvin. I wonder if you thought you'd be remembered this long after your death.

Don't set your beard on fire when you blow out your 500 candles.

Taun-Taun Sleeping Bag... for kids!

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Apparently, this started as a "Think Geek" April Fool's Day joke, which has quickly evolved into a real good possibility of actually happening...

All I can say is... I WANT ONE!!!!!!!

[Wednesday, July 1, 2009]

Meditation: Philippians 3:1

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“Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is not irksome to me, and is safe for you.” Philippians 3:1


The story is told of a tourist in New York City who had a ticket to attend a symphony concert at the storied Carnegie Hall. Running out of time and unable to find the concert hall, the tourist spotted a musician carrying a violin case, and asked him, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” “Practice, practice, practice,” replied the musician.


So it is with becoming the people God sent us here to be. You don’t learn how to love, how to forgive, how to be kind, patient, or compassionate in one or two easy lessons. These are the goals of a lifetime, and repetition is the key. You read the Bible again and again. You worship again and again. You pray again and again. You try, you fail, you get up and start over; again and again and again. The point is, you never give up. You keep on going, no matter what. In I Corinthians 9:24-27 Paul writes, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Well, I do not run aimlessly, I do not box as one beating the air; but I pommel my body and subdue it, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”


The question is, are you humble enough to keep on working at these lessons God is seeking to teach you even when it seems like you’ve already been there and done that? It is a humble thing, after all, to admit to yourself that you need to keep worshiping, you need to keep listening to sermons, you need to keep praying, you need to keep reading the Bible because, like everyone else, you’re not that fast of a learner when it comes to the things of God. It might not have taken you long to learn chemistry or algebra, but nobody learns quickly how to truly love. In an ADD, hyper-speed, digital, media-blitzed culture; it’s hard not to get bored doing these simple things of worship, prayer and Bible reading over and over again; but the end result is more than worth the effort.


Make the effort…over and over again.


Prayer: Father, please give me the discipline and determination to keep working at godliness all the days of my life. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

A good reminder to me and to you. Taken from here.